The Senate has passed a constitutional amendment bill establishing state police across the 36 states, marking a major shift in Nigeria’s security structure. The bill, forwarded by President Bola Tinubu, seeks to replace the long-standing single police system with a dual arrangement comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services.

The historic legislative session was briefly disrupted when the Senate’s electronic voting system failed, forcing lawmakers to adopt a manual voting process. All 88 senators present voted through a show of hands after efforts to restore the system proved unsuccessful.

The switch to manual voting followed a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, which was seconded by Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro. The approval of the bill is seen as a significant step toward restructuring policing and strengthening security at the state level.